Staff Reports
The Biden-Harris administration’s knack for gifting seems to rival even the most extravagant holiday shopping sprees. According to financial records obtained by the Washington Examiner, President Joe Biden has become quite the Santa Claus for world leaders, doling out his signature aviator sunglasses 57 times within just two years. In a bewildering mix of generosity, Biden also treated a Cambodian dictator to a hand-blown glass vase costing taxpayers over $2,300, while leather soccer balls worth thousands were casually distributed to others. Who knew being President came with the power to rack up such a gift registry?
While it’s customary for U.S. presidents to bestow gifts upon foreign dignitaries, the contents of Biden’s gift basket raise eyebrows, particularly when some recipients have been accused of human rights violations. Gifting is all in a day’s work for a president, but the selection of presents has veered from the traditional to the downright odd. Take, for example, the five custom-made leather dog collars and leashes gifted to the wife of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, at a cost of $1,109. Because nothing screams “diplomatic relationship” like a high-end dog accessory.
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Fifty-seven pairs of aviators, wine for Macron, and custom dog collars: Biden and Harris’s gifts to world leaders reports our @Barnini https://t.co/HH5UYZzqn6 via @dcexaminer pic.twitter.com/eg4TvZCWWQ
— Paul Bedard (@SecretsBedard) December 19, 2024
The aviator sunglasses, which Biden clearly believes are the key to diplomacy, were handed out like candy at the December 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. Here, Biden took his sunglasses shtick to new heights, gifting pairs to leaders from a multitude of African nations, presumably hoping that shiny accessories would somehow improve relations. Yet curiously enough, Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader, walked away without a pair. Instead, Biden opted to present him with a custom glass bowl worth roughly $1,558. Guess Biden’s theory is that a bowl is nothing without a sufficient level of hubris to accompany it.
And in another head-scratching moment, the president managed to gift the Sheikh of Qatar a custom leather soccer ball costing nearly $2,000, right while Qatar was under scrutiny for its treatment of migrant workers. Of course, a soccer ball emblazoned with the presidential seal is sure to win hearts and minds, especially when presented to someone facing serious allegations. It makes perfect sense—under this administration’s logic, a luxury ball could be the diplomatic equivalent of a soothing balm for human rights scrutiny.
Meanwhile, Biden savored the opportunity to dazzle world leaders with more extravagant gifts, including a custom hockey stick display shelf for the Finnish president, a sterling silver bracelet for his spouse, and an eye-popping $5,000 collection of historical letters gifted to King Charles III during his coronation—because if there’s one way to honor a long-standing ally, it’s with a dose of tax-funded royal flare. The administration’s generosity knows no bounds, and with various gifts ranging from flashy jewelry to culinary kits, one thing is for sure: if the goal was to redefine presidential diplomacy via a shopping spree, Biden’s achieved that in spades.
